Despite the amount of content being created, there is still a lack of representation for people of color. Manuel and Geiszel Godoy founded Black Sands Entertainment to change that. The media company has appeared on Shark Tank and has signed deals with Mark Cuban and Kevin Hart. As of 2024, Black Sands Entertainment is valued at $2.5 million.
Founder
Manuel Godoy is an independent publishing mogul from Middletown, Delaware. He attended Queens College, where he earned his BA in Business Administration, and is an Army veteran, where he met the love of his life, Geiszel Godoy.
Geisel is originally from New York City. She holds a bachelor’s degree in fashion design from the San Diego Art Institute and a master’s degree in management from Faulkner University.
After leaving the military, Geisel became a freelance technical designer for Calvin Klein. The couple hired Teunis de Raat as studio head. He has more than 25 years of experience in the industry, having worked for companies such as Disney and Pixar.
Founded Black Sand Entertainment
The Godoy duo’s passion for writing stories for Black people, especially about their lives before slavery, is what motivated Manuel to start Black Sands Entertainment in 2016.
The first project the couple saved money for was a video game called Kids 2 Kings, but the game flopped. Manuel and Geisel then hired Theunis to help them create new content, focusing on comic books. They raised $20,000 from Kickstarter and began printing copies.
As their story became more well-known, the startup raised $1 million from Wefunder in 2020. The following year, their total book sales reached $1.66 million.
Shark Tank Appearance
In 2022, Manuel, Geisel, and Tenis believed their intellectual property could take their business to the next level. They appeared on Season 13 of Shark Tank, seeking $500,000 for a 5% stake. That valuation immediately made Kevin Ollett laugh.
After a great introduction, they showed the Sharks a clip from an animated show they wanted to release. Sales were going well for the company, with revenue of $40,000 in 2017 and $800,000 so far this year as of the time of the pitch.
The Sharks were interested in the opportunity, but the one who was most interested was guest investor Kevin Hart. In the end, Kevin Hart and Mark Cuban agreed to invest $500,000 for 30%. Cuban and Hart took the majority of the equity and promised to help with distribution and technology.
After Shark Tank
While Black Sands already had a growing profile, the exposure from Shark Tank was huge for the company, which has been featured in publications like Publishers Weekly and New York Comic Con.
You can purchase their comic book sets on their website BlackSandsEntertainment.com. Some of the individual comic book releases are also available on Amazon. Their highest-rated book, Seven Kingdoms of BlackSand, has 883 reviews on Amazon and a 4.9-star rating. In about seven years, BlackSands Comics has grossed $3 million in sales. The media company has currently raised over $2.15 million from 5,126 investors on WeFunder.
Since the show aired, they have also released a podcast and app to help black creators reach a larger audience. Currently, the company is valued at around $2.5 million. If they succeed in animation, their valuation could increase significantly, but it would come at a high price. Teunis de Raat left the company in April 2022 and is now an independent producer.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: svlsf.edu.vn